Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the degree to which genetic and environmental influences affect variation in adolescent exercise behavior. Data on regular leisure time exercise activities were analyzed in 8,355 adolescent twins, from three-age cohorts (13-14, 15-16, and 17–19 years). Exercise behavior was assessed with survey items about type of regular leisure time exercise, frequency, and duration of the activities. Participants were classified as sedentary, regular exercisers, or vigorous exercisers. The prevalence of moderate exercise behavior declined from age 13 to 19 years with a parallel increase in prevalence of sedentary behavior, whereas the prevalence of vigorous exercise behavior remained constant across age cohorts. Variation in exercise behavior was analyzed with genetic structural equation modeling employing a liability threshold model. Variation was largely accounted for by genetic factors (72% to 85% of the variance was explained by genetic factors), whereas shared environmental factors only accounted for a substantial part of the variation in girls aged 13-14 years (46%). We hypothesize that genetic effects on exercise ability may explain the high heritability of exercise behavior in this phase of life.
Highlights
Regular exercise has been cited to be a key contributor to health [1], whereas a sedentary lifestyle is proposed to be one of the main causes of the rise in obesity that starts at an increasingly younger age [2]
We examined the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors on self-reported leisure time exercise behavior in the largest sample of adolescent twins to date
In a large sample of Dutch adolescent twins, we found that the prevalence of sedentariness increased during late adolescence compared to early adolescence
Summary
Regular exercise has been cited to be a key contributor to health [1], whereas a sedentary lifestyle is proposed to be one of the main causes of the rise in obesity that starts at an increasingly younger age [2]. Despite the well-documented benefits of exercise, many people do not exercise on a regular basis [3]. A sedentary lifestyle, and the accompanying risk for obesity, remains a major threat to health in today’s society. Studying exercise behavior during adolescence is of particular interest because several studies reported that the prevalence of exercise participation declines with increasing age, and that this decline is most prominent during adolescence [4,5,6]. The main focus of these studies has been on social, demographic, and environmental characteristics, such as low socioeconomic status and low social support by family and peers [7,8,9]
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